Current Affairs

UPSC ASIATIC CARACAL - English

     ASIATIC CARACAL

Why in News?

Caracal, which was used by India’s nobility in the sport of coursing like the cheetah, is struggling to survive, although both species had a similar distribution in the past.

• Scientific Name: Caracal Caracal Schmitzi
• The Asiatic caracal is a medium-sized and locally threatened cat species, which has been widely reported to be on the brink of extinction in India.
• It is also known by its persian name Siyahgosh or ‘black ears’.
• They are found mostly in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and are located in Kutch, the Malwa Plateau, the Aravalli hill range.
• Besides India, the caracal is found in several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.

Protection Status:

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• CITES: Appendix I

Conservation Initiatives: In 2021, the National Board for Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change included Caracal in the list of Critically Endangered species under critically endangered species recovery programme.

Species Recovery Programme

• It is one of the three components of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH).
• IDWH was started in 2008-09 as a Centrally sponsored Scheme. It is meant for providing support to protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves except tiger reserves), protection of wildlife outside protected areas and recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.
• There are 22 species on the critically endangered species recovery programme.

Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugongs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer, Jerdon’s Courser, the Northern River Terrapin, Clouded Leopard, Arabian Sea Humpback Whale, Red Panda and Caracal.

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